Teen invests enough to buy a Tesla

The Inspiring Story Of How A 17-year-old American Bought A Tesla

A 17-year-old grew an investment portfolio, reaching the $100,000 required to purchase a Tesla Model S.

The Background

After suffering injuries playing football at the age of 12, James Lanska was forced to sit at home on his computer, instead of playing the beautiful game. So he googled ‘how to get rich’, and discovered stock market investing. He quickly became obsessed and began researching potential companies. “I started pitching the idea of investing to my parents. Initially they were sceptical; after all, I was only 13, but after a constant barrage of information for several months my parents relented. It was all I would ever talk about: Tesla, Solar City, SpaceX, and Elon Musk.” Lanska wrote, for the Tesla website. He then opened an E-Trade account and invested his life savings in Tesla and Solar City, impressing his mother who promptly funded an account for him to manage.

The Tesla

Once Lanska reached the ripe old age of 16 it was time for him to start driving and the young investor needed a car. He was to be given his mum’s aging minivan. His mum on the other hand needed a new car. She wanted a new minivan, Lanska’s dad wanted an SUV for her, but Lanska himself was adamant the Tesla Model S was the right car for the job. However the $100,000 was too steep for his parents, so Lanska made a deal with his mother, if he could raise the funds via the investment account they would buy a Tesla.

In April 2015 Lanska had raised the money and the next month they travelled to a Tesla dealership in Minneapolis to test drive a Model S; a month later they took delivery of the car. As Lanksa’s commute to school is longer than his mother’s commute to work he gets to drive the Model S.